After only a year and a half in Toronto, Nigerian artist Idris Lawal is already making waves on Toronto’s music scene. On Thursday March 14th, he premiered the music video for his newest single JORDAN, followed by a performance of new songs that are set to be released in 2019.

“Expect a new single in a couple of months,” he told the sold out crowd at Page One Cafe in Toronto. His idea of premiering a video single at a showcase is progressive, and a move that artists should look to use in the future. Most listening parties/showcases are reserved for song performances, but a mix of a first time movie-like experience in a full room is an enjoyable one.

Along side Idris was a backup singer Sydnee Croft who recently re-entered the music scene, but her performance felt like she had never left. Her vocal range added another dimension to the songs Idris performed and helped elevate the showcase.

JORDAN was written as a reminder that we all fly around the sun every year because of our innate greatness. The title was also a literal one, in that, Idris revealed he never owned a pair of Jordans on Episode 8 of the Pops Culture podcast.

“That was the idea behind the last part,” he explained. “Maybe I’ll land on the moon this year, but these not Jordans.”

Idris’ next body of work is due late summer/early fall, along with a Nigerian music timeline project to be released on Nigeria’s Independence Day (October 1st). If there’s one thing Idris would like to impart to his listeners it’s that we should put an end to the marketing term Afro Beats and call each genre by their titles: He classifies his music as Afro Soul.